The Bar-Raisers

Meet the students, researchers, and alumni who are quietly reshaping the world – one breakthrough at a time. 

No two paths through RPI look the same. But somewhere along each one, there’s a turning point: a problem that won’t let go, an idea that demands more, a moment when the work stops feeling like work and starts feeling like a calling. 

Illumination

Colleen Costello Kristensen ’07
CEO and Co-Founder, Vyv

When Colleen's grandmother contracted a preventable infection during a routine hospital stay, she turned personal tragedy into a mission. The RPI biomedical engineering alum co-founded Vyv, developing proprietary antimicrobial light technology that continuously reduces bacteria in hospitals, schools, and beyond. 

Engineering With Empathy 

Raquel Velho
Associate Professor, Science and Technology Studies

Professor Velho explores what happens to people when technology reshapes the world around them, most recently studying the impact of large scientific facilities on communities.

About RPI

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was America's first technological research university. Founded in 1824 for "the application of science to the common purposes of life," we've been setting the standard ever since. Our alumni helped build the Brooklyn Bridge, invented the microprocessor and the digital camera, mapped the human genome, and sent humans to the moon.  

Today, we are home to five schools, 32 research centers, and a culture built on curiosity and collaboration. Nestled on a 275-acre campus in Troy, New York, with research facilities extending north to Lake George and south to New York City, we are building the foundation for a better tomorrow.

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